Glacier Bay National Park
First a bit about Gustavus. It's small, population of nearly 700 and remote, only reachable by boat (there is a public ferry) or plane (there is a tiny airstrip they call an airport), but my favorite stat is that the highest elevation is 10’ ! Haha
On to pics:
Glacier Bay National Park
Getting there. The airport in Skagway has two landing strips and is tucked in right next to the Skagway River.
Our plane. So, the pilot, himself, comes into the terminal to get the passengers and checks us off the manifest before we walk across the tarmac to board. It's the only plane, so we have free reign on the tarmac.
I'm a bit nervous. I've taken my Dramamine, chewed my ginger gummies, have my pulsing “relief” band on and have ginger gum in my pocket. I'm not nervous about flying … only about getting sick so I can't enjoy the sights! Well, that and maybe when the pilot pointed out where the emergency beacon and radio were, just in case anything happened to him … (Say what???)
And I tried not to worry that he had an airway manual in the seat pocket …
It was pretty cloudy and foggy, but I was mesmerized watching out the window (and didn't feel sick either)
landing in Juneau - again, we got out on the tarmac and this time, carefully followed the pilot into the terminal, making sure to walk on the marked safe zones. After all, they had way more than one airplane in Juneau. Look, they even had a painted airstrip. Haha
Our plane to Gustavus
Our flight to Gustavus was even more beautiful.
This is it. This is the NP sign that our driver stopped at so everyone could get a pic. And now we're finally in Glacier Bay National Park.
The view of Bartlett Cove and surrounding mountains from the deck of the national park lodge. This was one of our “treat” stops where we actually stayed in one of the national park lodges. (And, yes, this pic was from one of the few sunny days, haha)
things of interest around Bartlett Cove.
a curious ship. I never could figure out exactly what it was for.
Columbine - loved the peachy-orange tone against the spring green
There were loads of lupins along the banks
a pic of the cove with masses of lupins on the far shore
the Huna Tribal House A traditional Tlingit structure designed to symbolically anchor the HunaTinglit of Glacier Bay with their ancestral homeland.
Inside the Tribal House. Each pillar is carved and painted with iconography representing one of the clans.
The carving and painting in the front told several important stories of Tlingit peoples, including one about what caused the ice to come down the mountains and cover the bay which made them all leave their lands
Walking along the trail we came upon a mama sooty grouse with chicks
another butt shot, this time it's a sooty grouse chick (teehee), they disappeared in the foliage
Mama calling to the chicks
“Excuse me, but I seem to be missing some chicks. Have you seen them?”
Adventures outside the cove
Then, on our way to our whale watching cruise …. Surprise!!!! A moma moose and her triplets!
Our whale watching boat
Although we were remarkably close to the whales, they were still a little ways off and I found it difficult to both watch and try to get pics of them. I did better with the watching than the pics. Haha. My “reflex speed” was not quite up to the task of finding and focusing on the whale with the camera, all while being on a boat that was pitching about in the water. AND to accomplish that before the fluke was over and the whale went back under. I mean good grief 🙄 ! However, I did get several nice shots of the “post-fluke splash”. Haha And I got a few pics…, but they weren't quite as spectacular as I had envisioned they might be. 🤷 Nevertheless, it was an incredible experience, especially being on such a small boat.
We saw humpback whales. Each whale has slightly different markings on their tails which can be used to identify them, like fingerprints.
the whale generally surfaced several times, breathing each time,
and when it really arched it's back, it usually meant the tail would come out of the water, a fluke
The fluke would then power the whale down deeper, increasing the time underwater which could be used to find food, etc. These deeper dives typically lasted anywhere from 4-20 mins.
My spot.
one of my classic “post-fluke splash” shots 😂
steller sea lions frisking about in the bay
stunning landscapes abound
One of the highlights of our visit was a 6 hr. Glacier Bay Cruise offered by the national park service. It was marvelous. We saw at least five glaciers close up (not that hard since the park has over 1,000), calving glaciers, icebergs, growlers, brown bear, mountain goats, puffins, common mures, steller sea lions and waterfalls. With so many glaciers in the park we had an opportunity to see several, some at a distance and a few close up. The majority of the glaciers are high in the mountains, but there are several that are still intertidal, ie they come all the way down to the water. In the 1700s all of Glacier Bay was covered with a very large glacier several miles wide and several thousand feet thick. Since reaching its farthest point about 250 years ago it has been retreating. To date, it has retreated 65 miles and has created the current Glacier Bay. As I alluded to earlier in the pics of the tribal council house, the indigenous of the area have stories that tell of the glacier growing and covering their land with ice thus making them move to new lands.
Pics from the cruise:
Tufted puffin
more steller sea lions
I love puffins, I mean, who doesn't? Not only are they adorable, but they are so amazing on and under the water, but perhaps, just perhaps…the physical characteristics that make them so suitable to the frigid artic waters are also responsible for why they, ahem, ‘appear” to have to exert such effort and look so awkward when trying to fly … (I mean, you just have to laugh at them 🤭)
The attempt to fly: “I’m gonna’ do it…No, I'm gonna try to do it…I thiiiink I can …. Yeah, I think I'm going to make it …. No, wait, hang on…still a little shaky, but I've almost got it…”
“steady as she goes now (unless I get a bad gust I think I'm really going to get it). I just hope I don't have to go too far ...”
“It's embarrassing to watch them trying to fly. I’m just going to stay right here, in the water and pretend I don't see them.”
a group of common mures with a couple of puffins joining the formation
Uh oh, another puffin trying for a fly-by… this one actually looks pretty good…(if a little chubby in the middle)
But this one, yikes! I'm not convinced he's going to make it. To me, he looks like a combination of a ski jumper and a hang glider.Haha
Seagulls having a feeding frenzy while a pelagic cormorant looks on
Our boat dropped off a party of 4 and 2 guides for a multi-day kayak camping excursion to some of the uninhabited (at least by people) islands in the park. About 5% of my adventurous self was jealous, the other 95% of myself was like, "No. Nope. Not for me!"
Kittiwakes, a type of gull nesting on the cliff face
Mountain goat - it was a pretty cold and windy day. This guy was tucked in on a little shelf and seemed quite content.
The island he was on, was pretty rocky
and steep. Perfect for mountain goats.
Well hello. We spotted this guy on another island. He's standing on his back legs to look around and yes, that is a rather healthy hump on his back between his shoulders. This hump is muscles which, of course, is one of the reasons this guy is so strong. It is an identifying feature of this species, the Alaskan Brown Bear, which is the same species as the grizzly bears of interior Alaska and in the west of the lower 48, but these coastal bears eat salmon and other fish as well as berries, roots and grass. The increased calories and protein allow these bears to grow much larger than the grizzlies of the interior and lower 48 that must rely only on the berries, grass, etc. A typical male Alaskan Brown Bear can weigh in at 850 lbs, some well over 900 lbs while a typical male grizzly bear weighs 400-600 lbs.
We watched him for quite awhile
exploring the bank and digging for roots
What a gorgeous creature
Approaching the Margerie glacier, it was noticeably colder and “bergy bits” or “growlers” (ice chunks), were floating in the water. I loved the bergy bits. First, I just loved the name and the alliteration was just plain fun. And second, I loved the way they looked, their shapes, their reflections in the water and how desolate and barren they made the landscape appear. Appear? I guess it was desolate, remote, cold and barren, but I loved it! Perhaps I have some viking DNA remnants that make my eyes sparkle and my heart soar when I see landscape like this.
waterfalls created from glacial melt were cascading down the mountainsides
Margerie glacier is .85 miles wide, towers 200’ above the water and is 21 miles long.
more bergy bits
The 5 glaciers we saw, besides Margerie, were John Hopkins, Gilman, Grand Pacific, Lamplugh and Reid. I'm afraid I didn't keep clear enough notes to identify one from the other … but they were all different and they were all spectacular.
I love how this one looks like a waterfall as the ice moves down the tiers of rock
When we arrived back at the dock in Bartlett Cove the first thing I noticed was this ship loaded with lobster traps ... wait a minute that's not right 🤔 … crab traps! Of course!
The sunsets were spectacular …even if they were a little later than we were used to on the East Coast. Note: Alaska has it's own time zone and is an hour ahead of Pacific Time. Beautiful farewell sunset for our last night 10:00pm (2:00am EST)
10:40pm (2:40am EST)
10:46pm
11:00pm
leaving. The Gustavus airport waiting area
Our plane arrived and our luggage is on a cart ready to be loaded. (The orange backpack and aqua duffle bag are mine 😁)
We had to wait a couple of extra minutes while the pilot went in and bought smoothies, one for himself and one for his wife who was working back at the airport in Juneau. He said he'd be in big trouble if she found out he went to Gustavus and didn't bring her back a smoothie! Bwahaahaa
Finally ready for takeoff.
Beautiful day and a beautiful flight
Just look how green and steep these mountains are. They remind me of the coastal mountains in Hawaii. Of course, the ones in Hawaii didn't have the snow on top. Teehee But, they do both have volcanic origins, and they are both in rain forests so I suppose the observation isn't as far out in left field as it seems.
We had a couple of hours in Juneau so we called for a cab and headed downtown along the waterfront to explore a bit. (Coincidentally, our driver had lived in Lyndon, VT for a while, but moved back home to Juneau as the pandemic progressed). As throughout much of Alaska, there is a strong indigenous cultural representation especially relating to the arts.
a mural painted on the side of a building
Our flight back to Skagway. Another cool coincidence, our pilot was from Hinesburg, as in Hinesburg VT!!! It's a small world after all …
Instead of flying up along the Lynn Canal, the way we flew down, our pilot decided, since it was such a beautiful day, to go up over the mountains. Be still my beating heart, it was gorgeous!!!
There were a couple of spots that we flew through where I thought the wings were actually going to scrape the snow … but you know, my depth perception isn't what it used to be 😂
and then we were through and following the river down to the airport at the waters edge
and landing
I know this post is endless, but you just have to see the “luggage pickup carousel" at Skagway. They take the luggage from the plane and load it into a van. Then they drive the van around to the front of the building (the “building” is the size of a small ranch style house with an enclosed front porch) and dump all the luggage out on the sidewalk. It's pretty convenient because it's right next to the parking lot …only we didn't know, so we kept trying to figure out where our luggage was. It was right next to our truck, the red one in the pic. 😂
Personally, I like a park to have wildlife or spectacular scenery. If it has one of the two, I'm happy. If it has both … I'm in heaven. Rest assured, I was in heaven at Glacier Bay National Park. ❤️
Next stop: Kluane National Park in Yukon Territory, Canada. I did say something in an earlier blog about going back into the Yukon and this is it. It's not as crazy as it sounds. All these parks are in a bit of a cluster right at the top of the panhandle in Alaska and the corner of the Yukon that sticks in there.
Kluane is a beautiful park, with mountains and lakes, but … it is on the dry side of the mountains, so it has a much different feel, except that, of course, it too is … wait for it … remote!
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